The invention pertains to a process for manufacturing amines by reacting at a high temperature a monoolefin with ammonia or a primary or secondary amine in the presence of a catalyst.
It is known how to perform such a reaction, for example, using the processes described in European patent application Nos. EP-0,039,061 and EP-0,200,923. The first process consists of working at a temperature ranging between 100.degree. C. and 250.degree. C. in the presence of a catalyst with a base of ruthenium or iron dissolved in a solvent medium. It seems to be suitable only for ethylene and has the disadvantage of not selectively producing a specific amine. The second process consists of working at a temperature ranging preferably between 250.degree. C. and 350.degree. C. in the presence of an ammonium halide as a catalyst. The latter is preferably accompanied by a transition metal-based promotor with no catalytic activity of its own, which may be either a transition metal halide or an ammonium salt of a transition metal oxyacid.
According to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,459,191 and 4,483,747 an ammonium halide is also suitable for obtaining amines from olefins by liquid-phase photocatalysis.
Thus, the ammonium halides are specifically distinguished in the prior art among the compounds containing a NH.sub.4 ammonium group.